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Thrifting is all fun and games until you get exposed to asbestos or ingest radioactive particles. The past wasn’t always a pleasant place if these dangerous items you can find while thrifting or antiquing are anything to go off of.

Old ironing boards, with their sweet floral covers and Walton family vibes, are more insidious than you think. Those precious fabric covers that drew you to them in the first place? Yeah, they’re lined in asbestos.

Or well, they could be. You might not know asbestos by name, but you’re probably familiar with the many lawsuit-centered ads on TV talking about its downside — mesothelioma.

Asbestos was just one of many hazardous materials that used to make their way into just about everything. So, if you like your lungs and heart the way they are, maybe pass on the domestic darling that is the old ironing board.  

It wasn’t that long ago that drop-sides and decorative cutouts were all the rage in baby crib-land. While organizations like the US Consumer Product Safety Commission have easily accessible that follow the latest in safety research, not everyone is up-to-date on the most recent findings.

Secondhand cribs may look beautiful, but experts believe they’re the wolf in sheep’s clothing you never intended to invite in. What do loose-fitting mattresses, large open spaces between slats, decorative cutouts, and drop-sides have in common? They all pose a serious suffocation risk to your babies.

Related: 11 Dangerous Toys From the 70s That We're Surprised We Survived

Wicker is a hot commodity, and thrift stores know it. But did you know that those beautifully woven cane and bamboo patterns are perfect hiding places for bugs and larvae?

That wicker patio set could be full of creepy crawlies, from termites to wasps and ants to beetles. If something wicker has caught your eye, thoroughly look it over for husks, eggs, bite marks, and powdery residue.

Better to pass on something potentially infested than turn your home into a bug bed and breakfast

Undoubtedly, one of the most captivating glassware collectibles is uranium glass (aka vaseline glass). This popular glassware has a green or yellowish hue and glows a brilliant green when exposed to UV light.

Where does it get its glow from, you might ask? Uranium, of course! Small amounts of uranium are added in the glass-making process to create that distinct color.

While you won’t gain superpowers after handling uranium glass, it can be dangerous to . Much like how your doctor avoids X-rays unless absolutely necessary, it’s best to avoid exposing yourself to extra radioactive material when you don’t have to.

Old kerosene lamps were extremely common, so it’s not unusual to come across one while thrifting or antiquing. They sound dangerous because of the potential fire hazard with leftover kerosene potentially not being disposed of.

However, there’s a more hidden danger to these dear decorations. The rope wicks left inside can rot and mold. They might look perfectly normal from the top, but once you start taking the lamp apart to clean it or use it, you’ll get an eyeful of mold that hasn’t seen the light of day in decades.

This one won’t come as a surprise, but old thermometers and barometers relied on mercury to work. While mercury thermometers aren’t technically banned in the United States at the federal level , they’re typically only used in specific commercial or scientific settings.

That being said, mercury doesn’t pose an immediate danger when contained within thermometers or barometers. But, one clumsy move and you could have a toxic spill on your hands.

Related: 10 Infamous Banned Toys We Can't Believe Existed

Ah, vintage hair dryers. If you had to hazard a guess, you’d probably say they make this list by being a fire hazard.

You’d be wrong.

They’re actually front and center for the asbestos insulating their interiors. That’s right. Just like with old ironing board covers, hair dryers used to contain asbestos.

According to the (based on two ‘79 Washington Post articles), the “EDF estimates that some 10 million of the 54 million hair dryers sold since 1974 have asbestos linings and that some of these dryers emit potentially dangerous levels of asbestos particles.”

We don’t know about you, but we don’t want our blowout to blow away our health.

Antique porcelain is pretty. Pretty deadly.

Those beautifully painted plates and tea cups could be the devilish double-whammy you never wanted. Many old porcelain pieces were coated with lead glazes and painted with toxic pigments.

While it’s fine to get an eyeful of them, you want to avoid eating, drinking, or cooking anything in or out of them just to be safe.

If thrifting contemporary makeup for personal or professional use is a no-go, why, oh why would you want to risk it with antique or vintage makeup products?

There’s a laundry list of reasons why you shouldn’t apply old makeup to your face and body. Some of our favorites include mold, allergic reactions, chemical burns, and even asbestos exposure.

To stay on the safe side, keep these as collectibles and collectibles only.

Related: 10 Thrifting Steals That Scored BIG Bucks

Victorian snake oil salesmen didn’t get a reputation for nothing. From morphine eye drops to radioactive toothpaste and turpentine tonics, the limit on life-threatening treatments didn’t exist.

Unfortunately, with funky names like Pirelli’s Miracle Elixir (if you know, you know), you might not have any idea of the trace chemical compounds you’re buying.

Unless you’re 100% confident in that suspicious sludge in the quirky amber medicine bottle you found, you may want to leave it behind.

We’ve teased you with fire hazards for a while now, and the one that takes the cake is antique fire grenades. The fact that they were made to put out fires instead of starting them feels like an oxymoron only the Victorians could conjure.

Fire grenades look innocuous, with their cork tops and designs molded into the glass. Yet, the fire-fighting liquid inside — carbon tetrachloride — is toxic to humans. So, if you’re not confident in collecting hazardous material, you should leave these behind.

One word — fleas. While secondhand pet beds aren’t an immediate no, they do require some serious disinfection before you use them. Flea eggs can live a long time in the right environments, so it’s better to be safe than sorry with thrifted pet beds.

From tossing lawn darts as a kid to dodging lead poisoning from pretty porcelain, it’s a miracle humanity made it to the 21^st century. Knowing this, it shouldn’t come as a surprise when the past fights back. So next time you find yourself hunting the shelves for some thrifted treasures, keep your wits about you and our guide close at hand.